(Image source from: vaya.in)

Are you a mutton biryani fan and want to have it for free of charge? In that case, it is a must to stop by Vadakkampatti, a village in Thirumangalam taluka of Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district, which hosts an out of the ordinary annual temple festival.

Every year, the village hosts a three-day festival at the Muniyandi Swami temple, where, the mutton biryani is served as prasadam, prepared by villagers itself. The natives believe that deity Lord Muniyandi is a huge fan of biryani.

ImageSource: www.thehindu.com

According to the Times of India report, the hotelier community observes this festival to give thanks to their deity. Notably, most of the hoteliers have even named after their hotels as Muniyandi Vilas. The first restaurant chain was started by SVS Subba Naidu in Karaikudi and his inspiration came from the popular festival.

According to TOI, there are around 1,500 Muniyandi Vilas hotels in Sound India. To collect money for the festival, all restaurants keep aside money collected from the first customer.

“The festival is the time to give back to society. All hoteliers from the community contribute money for the festival', said NP Ramasamy to TOI.

Earlier, Reddiar and Naidu community jointly hosted the festival till the 1970s, but a difference of opinion between them has led both the community celebrate individually. This year, more than 8,000 devotees took part in temple festival. More than 100 goats and 600 roosters were sacrificed for making for prasadam.

-Sowmya Sangam